Son Murders 'Nagging' Dad, Prosecutors Say

Mason Johnson, 24, was accused of stabbing his father, 49-year-old Kenneth Johnson, in their Morgan Park home on Sunday.
View Full Caption

Cook County Sheriff's Office

CHICAGO — Mason Johnson was still clutching the knife he allegedly used to murder his father when police arrived Sunday to his Morgan Park home, prosecutors said.

Enraged by his father's repeated demands that he clean the basement, Johnson, 24, allegedly grabbed a knife and rushed at his 49-year-old Kenneth Johnson as he sat on the couch, Cook County State's Attorney Michael Rusch said.

Johnson, 24, was charged with first-degree murder for killing his dad, Kenneth Johnson, who was "nagging" that he do chores.

He allegedly stabbed the 49-year-old man multiple times in the face and head before dropping the knife. The father recovered it, slashing at the son, Rusch said.

Witness heard screaming and came downstairs to find Mason Johnson on top of his father and "blood all over."

Police were called to the home in the 11400 block of South Rockwell Street.

They found Mason Johnson still holding the knife. When ordered to drop the weapon, Johnson refused and was tasered by police, Rusch said.

Mason Johnson stabbed his father during an argument in the home they shared about 2:45 a.m. Sunday, police said. Both men were take to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where Kenneth Johnson was pronounced dead, authorities said.

At the scene Sunday, neighbors described Kenneth Johnson as a "really nice guy" who would help out around the quiet block and use his snowblower to clear sidewalks.

Kenneth Johnson had lived in the home with a woman for a few years, and his son had moved in within the last six months or so, neighbors said.

Mason Johnson is still in the hospital with injuries he sustained during the stabbing, police said. Prosecutors said he was undergoing surgery Monday.